My first "racing" bike is gone. I gave it back. It must have been early 2002 when I decided that I wanted a nice bike. I called my friend Todd W who was famous from riding bmx. He was sponsored by Mongoose at the time, had a house in suburbs that he paid for by doing the bmx thing. I think he regularly signed autographs and stuff. We were bros from way back when everybody hooked each other up. If somebody had a shoe sponsor and wore your size, you had a shoe sponsor. I remember the year that Puma tried making skate/bmx shoes and would send a few guys at the trails 3 pairs a month. I had a lot of pumas that summer.
Anyway, he asked Mongoose for a road bike, and they gave him one, and he gave it to me. Titanium road frame, ultegra/dura ace 9 speed, open pro wheels... it was a nice bike. I raced my first race on it and used it for a few years until I started being cool enough to get other nice stuff for free. Then it was my backup bike, or my winter bike, or my trainer bike, or my lender bike.
It recently sat in a garage for 6 months. I lent it to a guy from California who was visiting for a bit. Oddly enough, he didnt return it, and it just sat in his dad's garage. I then lent it to somebody else in exchange for her going to the suburbs to get it. When it returned, she said that it was missing a brake shoe. Just one. The spare tube was also gone.
I needed recently because I was between team bikes. I rode it for a few weeks recently and raced it at Kirkwood and Mingo this past weekend. While driving home from Kirkwood, Todd called me. I hadnt spoken to him in a long time. It turns out that he wants to do the MS150 and needed a bike. "Well yours is ready to race after I get my new team bike." Todd couldnt believe that it was still around, he was calling just to see if I could hook him up with anything.
Easy come, easy go I guess. There are a lot of memories attached to that bike.
2 comments:
such a great story! john told me you won mingo; awesome.
Ed wants to barrow your wife?
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